Your Favourite Superheroes, Now Sponsored By Brands...

Your Favourite Superheroes, Now Sponsored By Brands...

Imagine an ad for a new Batman movie, with the tagline "When it comes to fighting crime, Batman makes it Bacardi time." - sounds ridiculous doesn't it?

Or does it?

Product placement is virtually stock standard component in all major movie franchies these days (it all started with James Bond whom back in 1962 who opted for a 'Red Stripe' rather than his signature vodka martini. From there it went from BMW's to Aston Martin's, from Rolex watches to Omega timepieces"). Every Pixar film seems to come complete with a McHappy meal attached and some kind of fast-food tie-in and don't even get us started on Twilight's "glow in the dark popcorn"...

That's the basis for these thought-provoking works of art by Italian graphic artist & digital manipulator Roberto Vergati Santos.

“Imagine if one day capitalism reaches the point, where the big brands start to sponsor the superheroes. How would this influence their images? Based on this hypothesis, I decided to experiment with some characters, and see what would be the results of such idea.”

He's titled the series "Sponsored Heroes" posing what is certainly an interesting question. Is it that incomprehensible that at some point, we might see one of our favourite and much loved superheroes sponsored by a corporate brand? Sure billionaires Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne probably don't need the cash, but what about The Incredible Hulk, Wolverine or Captain America?